AS JESS STEERED HIS TRUCK around the barricades and past KRZE Monday morning, anticipation tightened in his gut. He remembered that feeling—he used to get it every weekday morning when he’d drive to Katie’s house to pick her up for school. Knowing he would see her again today made the sun shine a little brighter. Even if she was a pain in the ass.
No doubt about it, she was a challenge to deal with. In high school she hadn’t hassled him like this. He shouldn’t be surprised that she’d changed in thirteen years, though. A radio personality had to become gutsy or give up the business.
Jess kind of wished she’d picked a different show format, though. Why sex? Why not politics or the environment? Then she wouldn’t have done all that research, research that was making him sweat bullets every time he thought about climbing into her bed. No doubt she knew more than he did.
Well, too bad. He’d have to deal with it. His only alternative was to give up on Katie, and he wasn’t about to do that. After all she’d put him through, he would by God enjoy the fruits of his labors.
He parked the truck and noticed that the number of picketers marching back and forth in front of the tall chain-link fence seemed to have increased. The signs had been updated, too. He shaded his eyes so he could read the closest one, lettered in lipstick-red.
Don’t Put It Up ’Cause You Can’t Get It Up.
Wonderful. Value Our Roots had latched on to Katie’s pet theory. He couldn’t imagine she’d ever seriously had that opinion of him. Most likely she’d done it for the sound bite. She especially wouldn’t think of him in those terms after last night. His problem was more along the lines of keeping it down.
But she’d caught the imagination of the protesters and breathed new life into their campaign. Damn. After clapping his yellow hard hat on his head, he picked up a set of plans and climbed out of the truck.
“Hey, Harkins!” called one of the picketers. “Get a girlfriend, man!”
Jess ignored him and headed for the construction trailer. Wouldn’t that guy be amazed to know where Jess had been last night and what had happened inside Katie’s apartment?
That’s when it dawned on him that he had the power to bring her down if he chose to do that. He could blow her credibility out of the water by exposing their personal interactions of the past three nights. Obviously she didn’t think he would. He didn’t know whether to be flattered or irritated that she was so sure he’d keep their secret.
Gabe met him before he made it to the trailer. “Some of the guys are ticked about the signs,” he said. “You might want to talk them down. I’d hate to see a fight break out.”
“You and me both. We need to laugh this off. If the guys take it seriously, that’ll just give VOR more ammunition.”
“I’ve heard through the grapevine that the Livingston Development brass are unhappy, too.” Gabe stepped into the shade of the trailer and took off his sunglasses. “They’re leaning on the KRZE station manager to clip Crazy Katie’s wings. I just hope it’s not too late. The protestors seem to love this new angle. Did you see the helium balloons?”
“Balloons?”
“It’s like performance art. They’re down at the far end of the fence. Not too far from KRZE.”
Jess turned back to look. “I don’t see—oh, wait a minute. They’re blowing one up now.” He watched as a large tubular balloon in Day-Glo pink began to inflate. After it reached a height of about eight feet, it began losing air. As it grew limp, a second pink balloon began to swell.
Jess sighed. “Now isn’t that special?”
“Uh-oh. Here comes a TV van. Looks like the balloons might make the six-o’clock news.”
“They wouldn’t put that on the six-o’clock news.” Jess gazed at the TV crew piling out of the van. “It’s too suggestive. Kids could see that.”
“Maybe they’ll save it for the ten-o’clock news, but somebody’s here to get a story. They might look for an angle that won’t offend viewers. I suggest we make ourselves scarce before they spot you and try to get an interview.”
“Oh, shit.” Jess made a beeline for the trailer. “I didn’t think of that.”
Gabe followed at a brisk pace. “Personally I’d like to wring Crazy Katie’s neck. I wonder if the Livingston guys can get her fired. Wouldn’t that be sweet?”
“It would be overkill.” Despite his irritation, Jess’s stomach clenched at the thought of Katie losing the job she loved. Back in high school she’d told him this was her dream, and she’d achieved it. “I still think we ought to treat this whole thing as a joke and ignore it,” he said as he climbed the metal steps to the trailer and went inside.
“Good luck telling that to the guys.” Gabe closed the door after him. “Their machismo is being challenged, and with some of them, that’s major. If they didn’t catch Katie’s show Friday night, they’ve heard all about it now, thanks to the balloons and the protest signs. If Crazy Katie showed up here, she’d be in some serious trouble.”
Jess braced his hips against the battered desk at the far end of the trailer and looked at Gabe. “Maybe I can get her to retract that theory she promoted Friday night.”
Gabe stared at him. “How?”
Jess wasn’t sure how, but he wanted to try and defuse this situation. “Well, I can—”
“Hold on. I was kidding yesterday. I mean, you can’t exactly force yourself on her to prove you’re a manly man. Guys get jailed for that stuff, dude.”
“No, I’m not talking about that.” Although in a roundabout way he was. A night of lovemaking might cause her to reconsider her views, although that wasn’t his main motivation for wanting that. “I know Katie from high school.” He hesitated. “I’m taking her to lunch today.”
Gabe’s mouth dropped open. “No kidding?”
“I’m meeting her at twelve-thirty at the station.”
“And you think you’re going to buy her lunch and talk her out of messing with us? Good luck, buddy. That is one tough cookie. I think you’d better wear your cup.”
Jess had to laugh. Protective gear wasn’t a bad idea, but not for the reason Gabe was thinking of. What Jess needed was a male chastity belt.
Gabe shook his head. “I mean it, man. That woman might take a notion to kick you in the nuts.”
“Not if I handle the situation right.”
“You’re gonna sweet-talk her?”
“There’s that old saying, ‘You can attract more flies with honey than vinegar.’”
“I never got that saying, because who wants to attract flies in the first place? Anyway, I admire your cojones. And I hope it works.”
“Yeah, me, too. In any case, it’ll be interesting.” Jess thought that might be the understatement of the century.
KATIE ARRIVED AT THE station at eleven so she could talk to Herbert Edgecomb. Ava had called her at home an hour before, gleeful about the new VOR signs, the helium balloons and the TV coverage.
When Katie walked in the lobby, Ava gave her a thumbs-up. “Edgecomb’s digging this publicity,” she said. “He thought you didn’t have a chance of stopping that construction before, but now he’s not so sure.”
“Good.” Katie allowed herself a moment of satisfaction. That was followed by a flicker of concern for Jess. Yes, he was putting up a building she hated and his company probably had the contract for the parking garage, too. But she didn’t want him to crash and burn because of her. At lunch she’d find out how high the stakes were for him.
“Edgecomb told me to send you in as soon as you got here. He said something about forming a strategy.”
“That sounds promising. Thanks.” Katie walked back to Edgecomb’s office.
“Katie, Katie, come in!” Edgecomb, a balding little guy with a booming voice, looked even smaller sitting behind the huge mahogany desk he was so proud of. With his big nose and thinning hair that stood up in wisps from his pink scalp, he looked like a newly hatched sparrow.
Whenever Katie stepped into this room she felt like Dorothy finally catching a glimpse of the little man who was the Wizard of Oz.
“Well, now, Katie.” That big voice coming out of such a small instrument was startling. “Sit down, sit down.”
She did, knowing how Edgecomb disliked anyone towering over him. He’d placed low-slung chairs in front of his desk which put visitors at his height.
“You caused quite a stir with your Friday night show,” he said.
“So it seems.”
“I’m sure you got the message that I was concerned, especially after the owners called me at home.”
“Ava told me. But under the circumstances, I think—”
“We’re not worried about the negotiations on the sale of the property at the moment,” he said.
“Oh?” She picked up on his use of we. Whenever he did that, he was speaking as if he and the station’s owners were part of a tight group of insiders. When he used we he was feeling extremely pleased with himself.
“The ratings for Friday night’s show were…very good.”
“I’m glad to hear it.” She had to believe the ratings had gone through the roof for Edgecomb to admit to very good.
“And then this added publicity with the VOR getting TV coverage—even if they have to edit it carefully for sexual content—well, it’s good news for KRZE. By positioning ourselves against this building and parking garage, we could increase our market share considerably. Everyone loves an underdog.”
“So you’ll back me?”
“All the way, Katie. Full speed ahead. Even if you don’t succeed—”
“I will succeed.” Katie wished her grandmother were alive to share this victory. She would understand why Katie was fighting for the little house, even if Katie’s parents thought it was misplaced sentimentality.
“I think there’s a chance you might, but even if you don’t, the station will reap the benefits. We’ll have our pick of alternate locations because everyone will want to be associated with the little station that battled for its place in the world.”
Katie nodded. “I can see how that would be, but I want us to stay right here, if it’s all the same to you.”
“That would be wonderful. But until you brought forth that outrageous opinion on Friday night, it wasn’t a remote possibility.”
“It does seem to have struck a chord with people.”
“It absolutely has, Katie.” Edgecomb steepled his fingers. “So what do you have in store for your listeners tonight?”
“I found a sociologist who did a study of the evolution of fastening devices like nails, pegs, screws and nuts. He draws a parallel between the devices and male and female anatomy and he even maintains that’s why men relish working with those items. I couldn’t bring him here for the show—he lives in Washington—but I’ve arranged for a phone interview during the first segment of my program.”
Edgecomb smiled. “Phone interview, huh? So is there really a sociologist or are you making him up? It seems almost too perfect.”
Katie’s jaw dropped as she absorbed the implication. “You think I’d create a fake expert to further my cause?”
“Well, it’s not like anybody’s going to try to track down your Washington sociologist to see if he’s real. And this is great theater, so—”
“I would never do something like that, Mr. Edgecomb.” Indignation made her quiver. “That’s dishonest.”
“Okay, okay.” He held up both hands, palms out. “Didn’t mean to upset you. Obviously you’ve done a lot of research to find these people. That’s great.”
“Thank you.” Katie’s respect for Edgecomb slipped several notches. He obviously didn’t care if she made up her sources just so the ratings were good. That was disheartening.
“And I’m expecting those ratings to go even higher tonight,” he said. “Congratulations.”
“I’m glad it’s working out.” She’d like to have a more ethical boss, but life wasn’t perfect.
“Me, too. Now I’ll let you get on with your day. I’m sure you have more research to do.”
“Yes, I do.” And she liked to think that was part of the reason she’d done so well as a DJ and why she’d continue to increase her listener base. Syndication wasn’t out of the realm of possibility someday.
She admitted to a certain amount of ambition. It would be a kick to reach even more people and educate them about the fun parts of sex. Besides, if she became famous enough, the little house that contained the radio station would become famous, too, and less likely be destroyed.
As she left Edgecomb’s office, she allowed herself some nostalgia. She’d been allowed to spend many weekends here with her grandmother and grandfather. Every morning she’d walk down this hall from her bedroom to the kitchen, drawn by the scent of coffee brewing and pancakes sizzling on the griddle. She no longer had her grandmother with her, but thanks to this campaign, she might be able to save the place that held such poignant memories.
ALTHOUGH JESS TALKED TO his crew, he didn’t think he made much headway with them. Finally he’d been forced to threaten firing any guy who picked a fight with the protesters. In today’s economy, money should count more than machismo to them. At least he hoped to hell it did.
At twelve-thirty he drove his truck over to KRZE. Originally he’d planned to walk over and take her somewhere close by. The inflating/deflating balloons and the growing number of protesters made that seem like a bad plan.
He collected his share of suspicious looks from the picket line as he cruised around to the KRZE parking lot on the far side of the station. He wondered how they’d react when he came out the front door with Katie. With luck, it would confuse the hell out of them. This lunch date might serve more purposes than he’d thought.
When he walked into the lobby, Katie was standing by the receptionist’s desk, her back to the door as she talked to Ava, the same multipierced woman who had been sitting there Friday night. What a contrast—Ava with her spiked hair streaked green and her tongue stud flashing as she laughed, Katie in a slim-skirted suit of cobalt-blue and her hair a sleek waterfall of golden silk.
Sexual heat hit Jess the moment he saw Katie. As she turned and met his gaze, a picture of her kneeling in front of him came back with full force. He could smell the chocolate, feel the press of her fingers as she smeared it on, the flick of her tongue as she licked it off. He couldn’t speak for thinking about what she’d done with that mouth and those soft hands.
“Hi, Jess.”
“Hi.” With great effort he tore his attention from Katie so he wouldn’t appear rude. “Hi, Ava.”
“Hello.” Ava looked at him as if he were a specimen under a microscope.
“I’m ready to go if you are,” Katie said.
“Great.” He tried to decide if she was really as cool and calm as she acted. Her smile seemed relaxed and her body language didn’t suggest any tension except…she was gripping a pen so tightly in her right hand that her knuckles showed white against her skin.
“I thought we’d take the truck and get out of the downtown area for a while.”
“Far, far from the pink balloons,” Ava said.
“Um, yeah.” Jess had told the guys at work this should be treated as a joke, but he was no expert at laughing it off.
“Let’s go then.” Katie picked up her purse from the receptionist’s desk. “See you later, Ava.”
Jess held the door for Katie and she thanked him.
That was a relief. He’d met some women who thought holding the door for a woman was an outdated chauvinistic gesture. But it was how he’d been raised and he couldn’t help it.
On the way to his truck he didn’t look to the left, although he would have loved to know if anybody from VOR was watching. “I hope your supporters don’t think I’m kidnapping you,” he said.
“Now there’s an interesting idea. Maybe you’re kidnapping me and taking me away in your big old truck so you can have your way with me.”
“Never mind.” Him and his big mouth. Or maybe she would have taken anything he’d said and turned it into a sexual reference.
“Where are we going, by the way?”
He hadn’t decided until this minute, but now that he knew she was liable to say anything at all and get them both in trouble, he wanted some out-of-the-way spot. “There’s a little place I like called Casey’s Club, about two miles away. Great sandwiches.”
“Quiet?”
“Yeah, pretty quiet.” He opened the door and held it while she climbed in. He tried not to look at her legs while she did that, but a guy would have to be lobotomized not to. She had great legs, and she hadn’t covered them up with panty hose either. Tonight he wanted to be wedged right between those bare thighs.
He’d be wise to keep his mind off that topic, though. Lunch today was supposed to be for talking about something besides sex.
Taking a deep breath, he walked around the front of the truck and climbed into the driver’s seat. Katie was rustling around in her seat, and ten whole seconds sped by before he realized what was going on.
Opening her purse, she tucked a pair of lace panties inside.
His brain reeled. Even in the face of the evidence, he couldn’t believe she’d done it. “What the hell is that all about?”
She turned her blue gaze on him, and the taunting fire was back. “I thought I’d add a little zing to our lunch hour by going commando.”